The Sixer Sense
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The Philadelphia 76ers History Of Picking At One In NBA Draft

By Bret Stuter

May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson talks about his selection for enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2016 during a press conference at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson talks about his selection for enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2016 during a press conference at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Allen Iverson

Allen Iverson was a flamboyant persona long before he stepped onto an NBA court.  Despite his off court fame, his basketball skills enabled him to average 25 points and nearly 5 assists a game as a sophomore at Georgetown.   It was enough to catch the eye of the Philadelphia 76ers, who selected the talented guard with the first overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft.

He earned NBA Rookie of the Year in 1996-97 and followed that up by winning MVP of the All-Star Game in both 2001 and 2005—and six All-NBA nods.  He was the NBA’s scoring champ in 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2004-05. Iverson also led the NBA in steals three straight seasons (2000-01 through 2002-03) and topped the league in minutes per game four times while with the 76ers.

At his peak, he was paired up with big man Dikembe Mutombo and led the 76ers to the 2001 NBA finals, where AI averaged 35.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 47.4 minutes per game in the 2001 NBA Finals, shooting 40.7% /28.2% /72.9% in a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

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    • In December 2006,  Iverson was packaged with Ivan McFarlin to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round picks in 2007.  Iverson did return to the 76ers as a free agent in December 2009 to finish off his NBA career before being released in March 2010.

    In twelve seasons in Philadelphia, AI averaged 27.6 points, 6.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 41.4 minutes per game, shooting 42.1% /30.9% /and 77.9% . He holds single-season  76er’s records with 225 steals in 2002-03 and an average of 2.8 steals per game in 2001-02.

    Iverson is the team’s all-time leader with 885 3-pointers and an average of 2.3 steals per game; is sixth in club history with 722 games; second with 29,879 minutes played, 1,644 steals, 19,931 points and averages of 41.4 minutes and 27.6 points per game; third with 4,385 assists; and eighth with an average of 6.1 assists per game.  He is also  47th in NBA history with 37.584 minutes played, 43rd with 5,624 assists, 12th with 1,983 steals, 23rd with 24,368 points, fourth with an average of 41.1 minutes per game, seventh with an average of 26.7 points per game, 49th with an average of 6.2 assists per game and eighth with an average of 2.2 steals per game.

    But most of all, he was fun to watch.

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